Dot Hack:OBSESSION
by Lizzie Alice Dark
Summary: Ezkiou can't stand reality so she turns toward The World and is elected for the character design of Aura. This takes place after .hackQUARANTINE but before .hackLEGEND OF THE TWILIGHT SEE MY PROFILE PAGE FOR UPDATES!
1. Signing Up

Ezkiou ran to catch up with her friend. Hiiragi and she had been racing to practice for track but Ezkiou was cut recently from the team.  
  
*flashback*  
  
Mr.Turamatta sighed and crossed her name off. "Your in no condition to run Ezkiou. Your fatigue could harm you during training. You should rest, not race. And when you fainted last time I had to draw the line."  
  
"You didn't need to draw it through my name." She responded bitterly.   
  
"Well it's out of my hands now but do try and maintain your healthy habits. Your friend has informed me you haven't been eating lately and that you collapsed from exhaustion in physical education."  
  
She tightend her hands. "Hiiragi..."  
  
*end flashback*  
  
"I win again!" Hiiragi pumped a fist into the air gloriously. Ezkiou stopped and leaned against the corner stop sign.  
  
"How can you run so fast?" She asked incrediously.  
  
"Well I don't spend my whole life obsessing over video games like someone I know."   
  
"Syrka Legends isn't a game, it's almost real!"  
  
"Yeah and I think your brain's fried. Why are you always running with me anyways? You got cut from the team. You should be eating or sleeping."  
  
Ezkiou walked with her friend past the Tokyo shops and paused at Sora Game World and looked at the newest game from CC Corp. The World, the greatest MMORPG since Syrka Legends featuring hundreds of levels, dungeons, and great character designs. Hiiragi backtracked to see what she was staring at. "Oh no Ezkiou, not another game. Look. You can't even afford it. Five thousand yen! Why not wait till it costs two thousand?"  
  
"Must...have...game..." Ezkiou said, pretending to be a zombie and marched into the store. Hiiragi laughed and followed. Ezkiou looked around and asked Sora at the counter. "Can I get The World?"   
  
"Yeah." He said, Ezkiou was his best customer. "But you need all the works. There's the goggles, controller, and then the beginner's manual. We have a sale, you can buy all that for seven thousand yen."  
  
"Great!" She put down the money. Sora handed her the game and equipment.  
  
"Ezki..." Her friend called her by her nickname. "Don't throw away your money. Think of all the things you could buy. Remember all the manga you wanted to buy? Or buy so-"  
  
"Hiira, your just jealous. Go buy some clothes or something." She held her head high and walked home herself. She ran upstairs and hooked up her computer. When she finished, Ezkiou booted up the game. Please insert screen name... She thought for a moment when a name struck her. She typed the name in rapidly. Aura. 


	2. The Experienced Ones

Aura appeared at the Mac Anu root town with a smile. She had gotten her character design through an election. The Chaos Gate swung behind her and two other people logged in. One was a purple cat-like woman with green armor and she called to the person who followed her. "Come on Elk, we're going to meet them in a few minutes." Aura could have sworn the cat lady give her a suprised look but a Heavy Axeman logged in, blocking her view.  
  
Before she was swamped by the users she turned to the Chaos Gate and picked out the area: Delta Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground.   
  
Mia turned around but just as the group cleared, all she could see was a yellow afterglow. "...impossible."  
  
Aura walked into the cathedral and stared up at the statue. Her character was wrapped in chains. She heard someone yelling behind her and looked around for a place to hide. A chain shot from nowhere and pulls Aura inside the statue.  
  
A woman in a red and white outfit and blond hair followed another girl with silver hair and a black hooded cape. The short, silver-haired one spoke first. "I don't know why you helped him Helba. You should of taken his bracelet so we could of had some fun."  
  
The one named Helba spoke, she had a smug voice, like she knew what she was talking about. "Well he got rid of Skeith." She looked straight at the statue in which Aura was hiding. "Kite turned out to be more powerful than I expected but that's just the way things go huh?"   
  
The girl pulled of her hood to reveal silver fox-like ears with deep crimson stripes. "So why'd we come here?"  
  
"Well, sightings of Aura came back recently. Tolf, you know Mia."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
`"She said she saw the girl just minutes ago but she used the Chaos Gate."  
  
Tolf looked around. "Then why are we here? Shouldn't we be out looking for her?"  
  
Helba smiled. "We're hackers, not a search and rescue team. Let the boy look for her, if he's still playing."  
  
Tolf rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Mail me sometime, I gotta split."  
  
Helba nodded. Smiling, she gave the statue one last look. "And I'll see you around as well, Aura." She disappeared.  
  
Aura jumped out of the statue and looked at it bewilderingly. She logged out and went into the forum. She saw a post titled: Is this an event character? She looked at the date and saw it was almost a month old. There was a new message posted by a girl named Natsume:   
  
Hey I saw her too! She was near the Chaos Gate in Mac Anu but she disappeared before I could say hi.  
  
She clicked out and wondered why people were so excited about her character. Was she a legendary player? She decided to log in, hoping no one would care about her appearance. She went to the Theta server Root Town instead. She looked around at the Grunties and saw a girl with short blue hair and was asking where the Delta server was. An obvious newbie.   
  
Aura walked up to the girl. "Hi! I can show you where the data server is."   
  
The girl's eyes lit up. "Really? My name's Torika but my character design is that of an old system moderater named Subaru. She's my older sister."  
  
"Wow cool! My name's Aura. Everyone's acting like I'm a legend or something. I just picked out my character because she looks cool. Oh, and about the Delta server. You'll need to use the Chaos Gate."  
  
Torika smiled and gave Aura her members address. "Now we can be a team and call each other."  
  
Aura gave Torika hers. "Great. Now lets go to Mac Anu." They went through the Chaos Gate to the Delta Root town. "I gotta go. Send me a mail sometime." Ezkiou shut down her computer and stretched. She made a new friend and caused a mystery. What a productive evening... 


	3. The Sound

The next morning went by with a blur until around lunchtime where Ezkiou sat outside at lunch. She didn't feel like eating, she was too busy thinking about The World. Who were these people and how did they know her character? She knew she had been elected for a computer character that had been deleted, but why were people being so weird about it? "I may not be as famous as the Descendants of Fianna but these people are making quite a plot out of this game."  
  
A girl with green eyes and long, sleek red hair watched Ezkiou with the amused look of a gambler. The way she was talking to her friend was almost as if she knew what every response was going to be. "So Tolf, what move do you think your friend's going to make next?"  
  
The girl's friend responded in a slight drawl. "I know she's gonna make a spectacule of herself. It's her fault anyways. She should've picked her character more carefully. Though you already knew that, didn't you Helba."  
  
*later at Ezkiou's house*  
  
Ezkiou played the controller rapidly, desperately trying to defeat the monsters that were coming at her. Inside the game, Aura dodged and attacked the monsters with her magic, she didn't have any weapons except for a blood red bracelet that stood out against her white attire. Finally she made it to the boss room. It was empty. "Strange..." She turned around and saw a Chaos Gate but it was entirely black. With each complete rotation she heard a strange sound emit from it. "A in C Major...where have I heard that note before?" She heard it again and again till Ezkiou felt like she was gonna past out. She ripped the goggles from her head and tossed them to the floor.   
  
Breathing hard, she carefully set the goggles onto the desk but positioned it so she could she The World. She grabbed her controller and logged off. She pulled her manual off a shelf of role playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. She flipped to the warning on the inside back cover. If you experience any of the following symptoms while playing The World- dizziness, altered vision, eye or muscle twtches, loss of awareness, disorientation, any involuntary movement, or convulsions- IMMEDIATELY discontinue use and consult your physician before resuming play. "Funny, they didn't say anything about hearing bell sounds." Ezkiou kept flipping through the book, trying to find her answer when a piece of paper, similar to the design of the manual pages, fell out. "What the hell?" She picked it up and read the typed print.   
  
Data Drain- By using a special skill called data drain, you will be able to rewrite the monster data, itemize data that has been drawn, and decrease levels of monsters.   
  
WARNING-This is an illegal action that is against the user agreement with CC Corporation. Continuation of this action could lead to serious damage to your character. We will not be held responsible if irreversable damage is done to your character.  
  
"Well if continued action leads to bad news then I'll just use it once or twice. I mean, what are they going to do? Kill my character?" Ezkiou continued to read the second half.  
  
Gate Hacking- Areas known as "Protected Areas" can only be accessed through Gate Hacking. Trespassing into them is possible by using Virus Cores.   
  
WARNING-This is an illegal action that is against the user agreement with CC Corporation. Continuation of this action could lead to serious damage to your character. We will not be held responsible if irreversable damage is done to your character.  
  
"Man, these guys sound serious. But if it was in the book then...why shouldn't I try it?" She spun around in her chair and looked at the goggles and controller waiting for her. Since she was inactive for more than five minutes, her green screensaver was displaying a cube rotating. "I'll think about it at school tomorrow." 


	4. The Crossing

The wind sifted through the grass like water through the earth. The jade colored gave off a pure smell of a mountain spring and felt twice as refreshing to Ezkiou's bare feet. The slate colored pillars set around her resembled those at the Stonehenge. She lay in the grass and stared at the perfect sky with clouds of fluffy cotton. She heard a giggle and she sat up. Barely audible on the light breeze, a gentle song surrounded her softly.  
How come I must know? Where obsession needs to go. How come I must know? Where the passion hides its feelings.  
The voice was pleasant but the fact that someone else had found her little utopia annoyed her. "Who's there?" She stood up but couldn't fathom where the singing originated.  
.obsession needs to go. How come I must know? The direction of relieving.  
Ezkiou stepped forward and the singing stopped abruptly. "Where are you? Come out where I can see you!" She ran through the maze of pillars. The giggle would be almost in her ear and then over the hill. Finally she saw a grin flicker with the swish of a white dress. "Hey!" Ezkiou yelled out and saw the girl's back leaning against a pillar. The wind was blowing the girl's dress into the air like the white flag of surrender.  
"Gotcha." She thought and race towards the girl. Ezkiou reached out to grab the girl's shoulder but the girl suddenly flickered and disappeared and Ezkiou stumbled. Just before she fell the girl reappeared before her and flashed a grin before the world went black. "Could it..Aura?" She heard the sound again.  
Ezkiou woke up with a cold sweat and scrambled out of bed. She went into her bathroom and splashed water on her face. As she dried off with a towel she noticed her flute case sitting outside her bathroom door. Out of simple curiosity, Ezkiou pulled out her flute and assembled her fingers before blowing into it gently. She heard it again.that sound. "A in C major. I knew it!" She looked at her clock and saw that it said 9 a.m. Sunday. Ezkiou decided she would investigate the world with the black chaos gate again. After logging in she saw she had new mail from two people. One was from Torika.  
Hey! I heard about this really cool place called ? Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field. Do you wanna check it out later? It's really easy for lower levels like us. Where do you live? Maybe we could meet each other. ^_^ Byezy!  
Ezkiou responded with saying yes and that she lived in Tokyo, Japan. She turned to her other email that showed a picture of her character but the image was scrambled slightly. She opened the email and gasped. 


	5. Becoming Aura

Ezkiou stared at the black chaos gate in the email. She clicked on it and suddenly her goggles shorted out, showing nothing but the black and white lines of what is usually on TV. She set down her controller and pulled off her goggles. She checked the wiring and saw nothing was wrong. Ezkiou went behind her computer to check there when she heard the music on the game start up.  
How come I must know? Where obsession needs to go? How come I must know? Where the passion hides its feelings. How come I must know? Where obsession needs to go? How come I must know? The direction of relieving.  
Ezkiou walked over and her goggles displayed a swinging red image. It looked like her weapon in the game. She felt herself being stretched as her body pulled her closer to the goggles. She put a hand on the inside screen and she vanished. The room was silent as a door opened downstairs and Hiiragi called. "Ezkiou! Come on, we need to get going! Ezkiou?" She walked into the room and saw the goggles hanging by its cord and Ezkiou's flute laying on the bed. Hiiragi saw the screen in the goggles was displaying email and she decided to log on real quick since Ezkiou shouldn't be any longer. Ezkiou stood inside the game, amazed. She was inside the game! Inside! She could feel the light breeze in the town of Mac Anu. She ran over the bridge and stopped, looking at the water. Ezkiou dashed down and touched the cool surface. It was real, all of it. In the water she saw her reflection, which caused her to reach up and touch her face. She had become her character. She was Aura now. She wanted to show Torika so bad but without holding a controller she had no means to send a Flash Mail. Ezkiou walked up to the Chaos Gate and saw its liquid like blue center. She stepped into the little ring and a holographic menu popped up. She saw one that said Party and she touched it. Another menu opened up and she touched Add and selected Torika. She then saw a little speech bubble. |Just a second! I'm coming. | That's when it hit her. She couldn't hear anything but the environment. Torika appeared in front of her, accompanied by the yellow rings. Another bubble appeared. |Wanna go exploring? ^^ | Ezkiou didn't know how to respond but she said out loud, finally hearing Auras voice in the game. It sounded almost like a child's voice. "Torika! You wont believe this but I'm INSIDE the game!" Torika paused before another bubble appeared. | WOW! I could hear your voice! How'd you do that? |Another bubble followed that one. |Inside the game? What do you mean? @_@ | "I don't know. I touched my goggles and then I was here! Why dont you try it? " | ...nope. | Aura turned to see Tolf log in. Torika didn't notice but waved to Aura. |I gotta go now! Cya later!| "Bye..." Aura wondered if she could log out too. Even if she could, what would happen? Tolf hadn't seen her yet but Aura decided to find out about this user and walked over. Tolf recieved no response to her Flash Mail. |Damn! Where is she?| She felt a presence behind her and saw the girl that was like the statue. |Are you an event character?| "No. I'm a user." | O.O How can I hear your voice if your a user?| Aura shrugged. "You wont believe me but I'm INSIDE the game! I can touch the ground, feel wind and everything!" |...| Tolf wasn't so sure. This Aura seemed like something the computer would come up with but she would see what the Descendants of Fianna thought. 


	6. Sacrifice

Tolf called Aura over and she circled around her, giving her a quick checkover. "I'll have to take you to a friend of mine. Meet me at Theta Cursed Despaired Spiral." She disappeared.  
"What's with her? And what's with this game?" Aura wondered. She went over to the Theta Server and entered the keywords. When she arrived, Tolf was already there.  
"It seems my friend isn't available..." Where was Sieg anyways? Tolf thought to herself. Suddenly the world started shaking around them.  
"What's going on!?" Aura started to panic.  
A black creature exploded from the earth, sending bits of rock and dirt everywhere. Tolf looked up at it with fear and recognition. She couldn't type. She thought to herself, not believing what she saw through her goggles. "There's no way...Skeith."   
The monster turned to Aura, immediately spotting the red bracelet among her light clothing. Aura was paralized. She didn't know what would happen to her if she died while in the game.   
Tolf saw what was about to happen and as the monster fired, Tolf moved forward to push Aura out of the way.  
Aura watched the events as if they occurred in slow motion. A burst of energy erupted from the creature's mouth. Tolf ran and shoved Aura out of the way. The heat of the blast grazed her shoulder. The energy consumed Tolf and she fell limply to the ground. Aura cried out. "NOOO!!!"   
With tears in her eyes Aura faced the creature and her bracelet glowed. She raised it and to her amazment, an electronic shield formed around it and she felt herself being lifted of the ground and a beam of hot white energy shot and the monster, dissolving it.  
Aura dropped back to the ground and so did a glowing, diamond-shaped object. Aura knelt down and held Tolf's shoulders, shaking her slightly. "Tolf, Tolf wake up...please wake up!" Slowly Tolf's image flickered and became more transparent. "She has to be okay... her character just got hurt....that's all." Tolf flickered and disappeared. Aura stood up. "I want out... someone...LOG OUT!" A small blue screen appeared before her. Logging out user... Suddenly the world grew black and then she was Ezkiou again. She felt her feet hit solid ground and Ezkiou was in her room. Immediately she saw Hiiragi was in Ezkiou's chair, her head was resting against the wooden desk. Ezkiou saw the controller was being held limply in her hands and the goggle were on but no music was coming from them.  
"Hiiragi...?"  
*later*   
The doctor scribbled down some notes before replacing the clipboard at the foot of Hiiragi's bed. "It seems she's fallen into a coma, similar to others we have. You said it was because of a video game?"  
Ezkiou nodded silently while watching Hiiragi sleep.   
"Well, our best doctors say that is impossible; some of our patients' friends have laid claims that it's a popular online game that's been causing these comas. Testing proves though that certified games could have caused only seizures at their worst. If you have any more questions, I'll be in my office. Visting hours end at six." The doctor left, leaving Ezkiou alone with Hiiragi.  
"Hiiragi. What happened?"  
"It was a data bug. This time their all designed to look like Skeith."   
Ezkiou turned to see who had spoken and saw a girl with deep red hair. "Who are you?"  
The girl seemed to shrug off the question. "Tolf was no match for their power but that must not of been imperitive to her when she saved your life."  
"Tolf? but she- Hiiragi's Tolf?"  
The girl smiled. "I thought you would have figured that out by now." 


	7. Obsession

A/N Sorry but my internet was down for 4 months! My stupid brother put magnets on the compter...if you want to hear more about the data bug hunting then check out dot hack: RELIEF, (also written by me) it hasn't gotten many reviews but i keep my fingers crossed. Warning this chapter contain spoilers. Since I updated on Easter you should know...I BEAT MUTATION!!! I'm halfway through the series but I don't have enough money for Outbreak...:(  
  
Ezkiou typed madly on the board hoping someone would give her answers. |Does anyone know about the previous owner of the charater Aura? Who is Skeith? and why is everyone falling into comatose?| Almost as soon as she hit enter there was an immediate reply from someone named Wiseman.   
  
|Aura was a NPC who is also known as the key of twilight. Skeith is in the Epitaph of Twilight and "rides the wave" As to why people have fallen in a coma no one knows.|  
  
She wrote back almost in a fever. |I received Aura's character design through mail. Why would I have it if she was an NPC.|  
  
|The World works in mysterious ways.|  
  
She waited for more of an answer but when she didn't receive one she decided to quit. She read in the news columns about the coma incidents and noted that all the people who fell into comas were players of The World. Ezkiou looked up to see she had new mail. The letter was from the CCCorp saying: |New expansion pack for the world:Different careers, New Weapons, and better character designs!|  
  
"Wow! I want it!" Ezkiou jumped out of her chair and grabbed her backpack and sped out the door. She rode her bike downtown to Sora Game World. Sora grinned when she burst in and already had the expansion pack sitting on the counter. "Wow, your a mind reader!"  
  
"I thought you'd run down here to buy it." He said.  
  
Ezkiou paid for the game and suddenly a thought popped into her head. "Hey Sora, what do you do on The World?"  
  
"Not much...the usual killing and fun things. I like to collect member address's though. You can never have too many friends!" He laughed.  
  
Ezkiou laughed too though a bit nervously. Sora always seemed kind of strange and self-centered. She always assumed his jokes were to be taken seriously and now she figured she was right.  
  
*five weeks, and three days later*  
  
Ezkiou played ceaslessly. Dark rings formed under her eyes and she became thinner and paler due to the lack of being outdoors and eating. She hadn't been in school for month calling in sick. None of this affected her performance in The World. Since Hiiragi was still in comatose she had no reason to leave her room. "New Events...goblin tag...treasure hunt...and rare....rare item hun..." Ezkiou wobbled slightly and fell to the floor.  
  
Ezkiou opened her eyes slowly. "I'm awake..." She sat up and realized she was floating above a bed in an all white room. "What the hell is this?" Teddy bears lay scattered across the floor. She tried standing and was instantly brought to the floor. Looking down she saw she was wearing a white dress and she touched it with her hand and realized her hand was small like a child's. "I'm Aura again? Log Out!" She waited. Last time it had worked but why not now? "LOG OUT!" Then it dawned on her. She couldn't log out. But it was worth a shot..."Gate Out?" The next place she saw was Carmina Gadelica in the Lambda Server. "Well how bout that. Now, Log Out." Nothing. Ezkiou even tried changing servers but still nothing. She almost felt like crying but then reassured herself. "I'll get my friends to come." She check but not a single friend of hers was online. Even the Root Town was creepily empty. "Well I'll just wait for anyone...even if only shadows come." She sat with her back to the wall, staring at the Chaos Gate, waiting.  
  
The daughter that waited for the shadows repeated, "For sure... For sure I can go home." But the girl did not know... The truth that waited at the end of the journey The eternal mourning of her land. 


	8. Cobalt Knight and Woman in White

A/N: HERE IT IS NOW ENOUGH WITH THE THREATENING EMAILS!!! lol just kidding...but I am sorry cause I've been running a .hack fever since I'm now halfway through quarantine. I've been buying .hack products like crazy and haven't had time to write! (heh heh...gomenasai) Well now I guess I'll leave you all with the madness that is .hackOBSESSION. (I want more reviews!)  
  
Aura awoke not realizing that she had fallen asleep. People bustled around Carmina Gadelica. It felt odd not being able to hear anything. Only the blue text boxes displaying things like LOL or =) . Suddenly she felt very alone. For a while she went around talking to people but no one gave her answers, only Wow, are there com links in The World already? I thought that website was uptodate. Most experienced players regarded her as an NPC.   
  
So there you are.  
  
Aura turned to see a woman in armor who was accompanied by a shorter woman with glasses, carrying a book. Aura didn't have much to say and in a world of silence it felt comforting to hear her own voice. "So...here I am. What do you want?"  
  
I'm curious about you, considering I have seen you in The World before but not under the disguise of a PC.  
  
She felt an immediate dislike for this woman realizing she must be a System Administrator.  
  
You do know that I am not fond of Vagrant AI's and that you have a high probability of being deleted.  
  
"Vagrant...AI? But I'm real!"  
  
That's what they all say, now hold still and don't make a scene. You could at least be honorable in deletion.  
  
"Stay back!" As the woman lifted her spear, Aura put out a hand and a surge of power ran through her. The bracelet on her arm shone brightly and then the weapon in the woman's hand dissolved like leaves scattered into the wind. She then felt a ripple of air behind her that pulled her in.  
  
Kamui? What course of action to you recommend next?  
  
... The armored woman called Kamui turned and headed toward the Chaos Gate. This AI Aura...she was the one who was involved in the "Twilight Incident". We cannot allowed a similar thing to occur in The World. As the leader of the Cobalt Knights, I will not let this slip through the cracks.  
  
But ma'am, didn't Lios himself fail to stop Aura?  
  
Pah! Lios...the poor excuse of an Admin. He should have been sacked and now they have some "Descendant of Fianna" becoming an SA. I will not let The World fall into crisis even if it involves deleting every player in it! And with that, Kamui logged out.  
  
"Deep in the night...Far off the light...Missing my headache..." Aura sat infront of the statue in Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, singing the song she had memorized by now. "How come I must know? Where obsession needs to go? How come I must know? The direction of relieving."  
  
That's a nice song, but do you have any idea about the hidden meaning behind it?  
  
Aura turned and saw a woman in white. "Who are you and what do you want?" She asked in near monotone.  
  
I am a friend, or perhaps a foe. I've come to give you some advice.  
  
"What is it?" Aura asked, hoping for something that might explain her condition or that woman who tried to delete her.  
  
Strange things happen to those who delve to deeply into the Epitaph of Twilight. Take that as a warning and maybe a hint. As the woman turned to leave, Aura stood up, facing her.  
  
"Why are you helping me?"  
  
Who knows? The screen glitched. You may be the one helping me. The screen turned to static and then nothing. Ezkiou opening her eyes and realized that she was on the floor with her headset still on. She didn't pull it off but instead sat back into her chair and turned on her computer. After a few minutes, a blue screen popped up with the words ALTIMIT. 


	9. Lost Players and Lanterns

A/N: Yeah that's right, you guys are lucky I'm nice and giving you a double whammy of the OBSESSION. (mumble you owe me double reviews for this one) Speaking of which, people ask why I want reviews so much well it's like inspiration. More reviews, More quicker I am to write a chapter. (WARNING: chapter contains epitaph of twilight so if you don't want know then run!!!) Also, my text sometimes shows the lines wher I put online chat and sometimes it doesn't, so bear with me.  
  
Ezkiou checked her mail and discovered she had five new mails. One was from Torika, wanting to go to a new event. The second was from Wiseman, and he had sent her an entire copy of the Epitaph of Twilight. The third was from the woman in white who she know knew as Helba the infamous hacker saying something about the bracelet. No. Four mail was from the SA about a new Festival of Lights event and the fifth was from another acrambled version of herself: Y0u a83 b31n9 watch3d.  
  
She felt a chill as she read the letter Wiseman sent her:  
  
Unknown where the Cursed Wave was born...  
  
After the stars doth cross the heavens...  
  
The sky in the East doth darken.  
  
And air doth fills with mourning.  
  
From the chosen land beyond the forest,  
  
A sign of the Wave comes.  
  
Riding the Wave is: Skeith, the Shadow of Death,  
  
to drown all that stands.  
  
Mirage of Deceit, Innis,  
  
Betray all with the flawed image,  
  
and did aid the Wave.  
  
And by the Power of Magus,  
  
a drop from the Wave doth reach the heavens,  
  
and creates a new Wave.  
  
With the Wave, Fidchell,  
  
the power to tell the dark future,  
  
hope darkens, sadness and despair rule.  
  
Gorre schemes when swallowed by the Cursed Wave.  
  
Macha seduces with the sweet trap.  
  
Wave reaches the Pinnacle, and escape none can.  
  
Tarvos still remains with more cruelty to punish and destroy.  
  
And with the turbulent destruction after the Wave.  
  
Only a void remains.  
  
From deep within the void arrives Corbenik.  
  
Yet to return, the shadowed one.  
  
Who quests for the Twilight Dragon  
  
Rumbles the Dark Hearth,  
  
And Helba, Queen of the Dark, has raised finally her army.  
  
Apeiron, King of Light, beckons... At the base of the rainbow they meet.  
  
Against the abominable "Wave," together they fight.  
  
Alba's lake boils.  
  
Light's great tree doth fall.  
  
Power - all now to droplets turned in the temple of Arche Koeln.  
  
Returns to nothing, this world of shadowless ones.  
  
Never to return, the shadowless one.  
  
Who quests for the Twilight Dragon.  
  
The wife buffeted by "waves" turns her back on the field.  
  
The daughter that waited for the shadows repeated,  
  
"For sure... For sure I can go home."  
  
But the girl did not know...  
  
The truth that waited at the end of the journey  
  
The eternal mourning of her land.  
  
In the place of the calamitous, only life was known.  
  
After the circling stars  
  
When the eastern dark void, the air full of despair  
  
In the depths of the divided forest, in the land of Karma,  
  
Riding fast on the path is Skeith  
  
Bearing death's shadow, it eliminates all that seek to thwart it.  
  
The Confusing Mirage, Innis  
  
Decieves those that see it with illusions, rescues the waves  
  
The wave soaring high, when its head is smashed,  
  
A new wave will emerge  
  
To become Magus's power.  
  
When questioning the wave,  
  
Hope's light will be lost when he speaks of the dark future of where sorrow and resignation reign.  
  
Using Fiddlehiem's Technique   
  
When englufed by the Waves of Calamity, Gorre will plan  
  
The sweet snare of conciliation is Macha  
  
The Waves, an exceeding maelstrom  
  
Nothing can escape  
  
When you think you have escaped, Tarvos exists  
  
To destroy those with his exceeding cruelty  
  
Upon violent requital, only to remain is the void, the vacant darkness  
  
is the harbringer that Corbenik is to appear.  
  
Ezkious remembered what Helba had told her in The World: Strange things happen to those who delve too deeply into the Epitaph of Twilight.  
  
She read through Helba's email explaining Virus Cores and Gate Hacking, and The SA email about the Festival of Lights that would be held in Mac Anu at 8 p.m. She realized with some guilt that she hadn't been talking to Torika lately and happily wrote her back, agreeing to spend the evening with her. She made a promise to herself that she would try and enjoy the game more instead on obsessing over her own agenda. Obsessing... "Obsession." The song seemed odd, like a hidden message to unlock a hidden world. "The World." She said to herself and logged in.  
  
Aura was in the Delta server when she saw someone pass through the Chaos Gate. Strangely she could follow him to where he was going. He wore a purple outfit and was a twin blade with green hair that looked just like Sora's. Funnily enough, information said his name was Sora. Not saying anything she followed curiously through a dungeon that seemed to be empty. Her camera angle slowly drifted upwards and she realized she was floating. When she fixed her camera she saw Sora had his twin blades around another player's throat.   
  
Your member address if you please... Aura watched on as the Wavemaster called BT struggled and then was killed by the player Sora.  
  
"Why...why would HE be a Player Killer?" Ezkiou wanted to ask but then Sora was gone. Almost as if she had seen a ghost. She realized that she had spent too much time in the dungeon and used a Sprite Ocarina to leave and then Gate Out.It was already dark in Mac Anu and Aura moved among the tight throngs of players and found Torika.   
  
Where have you been lately? You and I should hang out more cause you're way more powerful then when I last saw you.  
  
Yeah. She typed back. I just guess I'm more of a solitary player when it comes to fighting.   
  
Hey they're going to start the festival! Some wrote as an Admin started handing out items called Spirit Laterns.  
  
These are Spirit Laterns that are items that can be altered with images. If you have any loved ones who need guidance or those you wish to rest in peace, attach their image to the Laterns and wait until I say, to let them go down the river.  
  
Torika immediately added an image of her older sister, while Aura hesitated. She then added a picture of her and Hiiragi smiling. Her last thoughts she had as she watched the lights twinkle down the river were: "I hope you wake up Hiiragi, and I hope I will still be awake to see you wake up." 


End file.
